


Growing Pains

by Phoenicia, snarkyscorp



Series: Wolf Sousuke & Bunny Haru [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bunny Haru, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Wolf/Bunny, wolf sousuke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 17:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5099966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenicia/pseuds/Phoenicia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkyscorp/pseuds/snarkyscorp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life together as a bunny and a wolf is complicated. Mistakes get made. Communication needs work. Trust gets broken and must be rebuilt.</p><p>In short, it's not that different from any other relationship. These are just a few of the bumps in the road when bunny Haru moves into the predator district with wolf Sousuke.</p><p>((part of our overall Wolf and Bunny universe, chapters will be in no particular order))</p>
            </blockquote>





	Growing Pains

**Author's Note:**

> So this absolutely gorgeous and funny [translated SouHaru art](http://gdgdrs.tumblr.com/post/113810113972/this-was-cute-as-fuck-so-i-had-to-share-it-with) bounced across my tumblr dash a while ago. (Please visit the [original artist (も子)](http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=49252925) on Pixiv and leave some love!) 
> 
> It captivated both of us, led to lots of headcanon gushing, and true to form it's now a series because wolf Sousuke and bunny Haru demanded that their stories be told.

Neither of them plan it this way, but with Haru’s world largely confined to the wolf’s apartment (for safety, of course, nothing to do with lupine possessiveness) he does what bunnies do best: nesting. In short order he takes over the kitchen, reorganizing it to his liking and functionality. Furniture is rearranged, decor gradually changed, new scents blending with the old. They make a couple of forays to the prey district so Haru can close up the family home and gather a few important possessions: clothes, jammers, art supplies, cookware, seasonings, and his grandmother’s handwritten recipe book.

It takes work, adapting recipes to a carnivore’s palate, but little by little Nanase dishes make their way to Sousuke’s table. The wolf’s runaway favorite is tonkatsu but it’s not something for everyday, so Haru turns out an array of pork varieties paired with savory, crunchy vegetables, airy noodles, and sticky rice. Even wolves can benefit from a varied diet. Sousuke’s job keeps him busy during the day, giving Haru time and opportunity to experiment and further ingrain himself in this new environment.

And yet, not every day and not every meal turn out so well.

Evening arrives with Sousuke unwinding while Haru stalks back and forth in the kitchen. The bunny thumbs through the book again for ideas, but he’s coming up blank. There’s plenty of food, but nothing looks appealing. “What do you want for dinner?” he calls, pulling the refrigerator open yet again.

Sousuke’s absent answer drifts in from the small living room over the whistles and crowd noise from some sporting event. “Rabbit…” **  
**

Haru goes completely still, unsure if he heard correctly but bunny hearing rarely fails. He has been skirting around that package in the freezer for some time, as if ignoring its existence will make it go away, will make the word stop echoing through the kitchen in Sousuke’s voice. Sousuke’s _hungry_ voice. Haru swallows, food the last thing on his mind as he takes off his apron and folds it up, putting it in its usual place. Sousuke’s back is to him as he leaves the kitchen, muttering a low “...do what you want” before retreating to the bedroom. **  
**

Sousuke's brow furrows, his attention divided in equal parts between the television and Haru's voice until he hears the retreating footsteps. It's not an unusual turn of phrase for the bunny, but it _is_ unusual for him to flat out walk away. Normally if Sousuke said something Haru didn't like, he'd pout. Or glare. Or indicate displeasure in some other silent form or fashion. It was rare and confusing to see him remove himself entirely from the conversation. It draws Sousuke's gaze fully to his retreating back. **  
**

"Oi!," Sousuke snaps. "You offered to make dinner, and you're just leaving?" Something hot burns at the back of Sousuke's neck. Something like pride. This is _his_ rabbit. He caught him! The least Haru could do would be to cook dinner for him once in awhile. It isn't as if Sousuke forces him to cook every day; Haru has just naturally fallen into the habit, and he has more time in his day than Sousuke.

It isn't like Sousuke asked him to cook--

It's that moment when the reality of his words hits Sousuke, his ears twitching and tail sinking pathetically limp against the couch. _Rabbit_. He asked Haru to cook rabbit.

But...so what? So what if he asked Haru to cook it? It's not like Sousuke asked him to get into his oven or something. It's just meat. Like pork or beef or chicken. Just another form of protein. And yet no matter how Sousuke tries to rationalize it, he just works himself into a whirlwind of guilt. Somehow, throwing the rabbit meat away seems just as bad as eating it. A disservice. And the thought, suddenly, that someone might have stored Haru for dinner like that, cold and frozen and dead in the back of their freezer waiting to be torn and cooked, stings the big, bad wolf. He doesn't know how to apologize for being a wolf. For having eaten rabbit in the past. For sometimes itching to eat Haru and his kind, even though he knows he won't, that he doesn't truly want to eat him.

Ears laying back, tail firmly tucked between his thighs, he meanders towards the bedroom where Haru disappeared to. "Hey," he offers, quietly, worry etched across his face. There should be a manual on this sort of thing: How to Talk to An Angry Bunny. But if that was the case, Sousuke would be the one who'd have to write it, and it would be full of blank pages he doesn't know how to fill.

Curled up small on the bed near an open but empty sketchbook, Haru doesn’t reply, his mind still absorbed in processing. Sousuke's inadvertent honesty...is a jarring, ugly reminder that in the predator district, he is food. It doesn't matter that the wolf is an idiot and probably has no idea what he said; the reality is unchanged. Far more of the wolves are like Sousuke’s loudmouthed red friend, always hanging around with hungry eyes and greedy demands that Sousuke share his tasty treat. To them, he isn't a person but a meal (and not much of one).

The bunny's ears are uncharacteristically flopped down, long and dark as they drape against the sides of his head in submission. His scent isn't fearful, but the bedroom's air is bruised with hurt. "I don't know how to cook that," he says, the words a little hollow and his eyes still on the sketchbook, refusing to meet Sousuke’s gaze. "So I can't." It's a face-saving opportunity, one he rarely offers to the wolf, but a cornered prey has few alternatives.

Sousuke has never taken a lover before. No one serious. No one he wanted to keep forever. No one whose pain stung him in turn. So seeing Haru like that, curled up and quiet in a way that's unlike his usual bratty silence, makes a lump form in his throat, clogging the words from getting out. What could he say, anyway? What is he _supposed_ to say? Should he lay down, too? Just leave Haru be?

Frustrated, Sousuke sits a little grumpily at the edge of the bed, glaring at the wall for a time. It's so difficult, communicating with someone like Haru. More difficult than anything Sousuke's ever had to do before, but he knows it's important. If the words won't flow, he'll force them out.

"It's fine," he says. "I don't expect you to know how to cook everything. I like pork best, but..." He glances at Haru, and his voice nearly whines the rest, "...I'm even learning to like mackerel."

Haru closes the sketchbook, tucking the worn pencil with care into the spiral binding before unfurling to look at his wolf. _His_ wolf, he thinks, not without a tiny throb of ownership warming some of the chill out of his body. Sousuke is such a giant pile of stupid and wonderful, and taking him means taking both of those aspects. Haru never expected to meet him, much less to become so attached to him, to a predator with an itchy urge to devour him. There's still so much for them to learn, so much in the way of instincts and social programming to overcome. In the kitchen, with 'rabbit' echoing between them as Sousuke's desired dinner, Haru had been sure it was over, that he would be ‘preserved food’ no longer. Laying an awkward bone called mackerel at his feet is maybe the best apology possible.

"Take me shopping," Haru whispers, reaching out to pet one of Sousuke's ears. "We're having fish tonight."

Despite himself, Sousuke's tail wags a little. Maybe he doesn't know how to apologize and doesn't know when he's said or done something stupid right away, but he has a good heart. And someday, he'll be able to show it to his bunny. "It's a dangerous time of night. You'll have to make sure you don't stray from me."

"I'll even hold your hand," Haru thrums, his ears starting to perk back up. "So you don't get lost...and so I don't get eaten."

" _I don't get lost_ ," Sousuke argues, but his tail wags a little bit more and he accepts a few pets from his bunny before leaning in to nip at that lazy ear. "Let's go." He doesn't add 'before I eat you', having enough sense that it would carry more seriously now.

Haru doesn't contradict him, not with words, but a sly raise of dark eyebrow questions Sousuke's ability to stay found. "We also need pork and ginger."

Taking Haru's hand, Sousuke helps him up, and then on impulse, tugs him close. Softly, he sniffs and nuzzles at Haru's neck and ear and cheek. "I'll make a list."

"Mmm." This is the wolf he knows, all hot blood and gentle hands. Haru tilts his head back, giving Sousuke space to sniff and mark. "It's starting towards fall vegetable season. I want Japanese pumpkin. And so do you."

 _Yes_ , Sousuke thinks as he breathes in Haru's bunny scent, fresh and clean again, the pain in it fading to mere memory. _I do indeed._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please hit us up on tumblr or twitter if you'd like to chat. =^_^=
> 
> Phoenicia: [tumblr](http://mienaihane.tumblr.com) | [twtter](http://twitter.com/mienaihane)  
> snarkyscorp: [tumblr](http://fuwafuwafic.tumblr.com) | [twitter](http://twitter.com/oikawalife)
> 
> Joint headcanon blog: [futurefishsticks](http://futurefishsticks.tumblr.com)


End file.
